As director general of the Confederation of British Industry for six years, Sir Digby Jones - who leaves the government in today's reshuffle - personified British business, calling for lower taxes on business to encourage higher productivity.

When Gordon Brown was looking for someone with the clout to persuade employers to commit to supporting training for employees, particularly those in the low-skills bracket, Jones was the obvious choice.

As such he became the first non-politician to be appointed by Brown in his "government of all the talents".

Awarded a peerage to enable him enter government, Lord Jones was given two portfolios: minister of state in the department for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, and minister at the Foreign Office, enabling him to travel the world representing the UK's trade interests.

However, his rightwing credentials and strong opposition to the introduction of the minimum wage did not endear him to many.

At the time trade union leaders joked: "Gordon has put together a team of all the talents - and Sir Digby Jones."

Labour peers objected vociferously to his refusal to join the party and he eventually had to agree to take the Labour whip.

But in April Jones told a private meeting of business leaders that he intended to stand down before the next general election because he did not want to be asked who he was backing. When he was appointed last summer Jones said this question was a private matter.

His period in government has not been without controversy. Earlier this year in an interview with the Financial Times he questioned the wisdom of the government's decision to tax "non-doms" more heavily.

Born in the Midlands, he worked in corporate finance for KPMG and has sat on the boards of several blue-chip companies and charities. He became a fellow of Unicef, though critics say he drags his feet on climate change.

A jovial, prosaic pragmatist he once told Desert Island Discs his luxury would be a video or book of "100 Examples of Excellence".